How upside-down was the MetroStars’ world going into last night’s game with visiting Columbus, arguably the Metros’ most important game so far this season?

Amado Guevara – the league MVP and their team captain – was suspended after getting two inane yellow cards in Wednesday’s 3-0 loss at D.C. Then their so-called leader demanded a transfer out of MLS at season’s end, causing a maelstrom that was the last thing the struggling Metros needed.

Meanwhile, Sergio Galvan Rey – ripped by the media and reviled by the fans throughout his disappointing debut last season – is in the midst of a comeback campaign.

He stepped into Guevara’s midfield role last night, and spoke passionately about his desire to get the Metros into the MLS Cup playoffs.

“I haven’t reached yet the level that I can play, but I’ve contributed more this season because I know how to do things better in this league, and what to expect in this league,” said Galvan Rey, who earned the nickname King of Goals while scoring 171 goals in eight years with Once Caldas in the Colombian league.

But after being the Metros’ big-ticket acquisition last season, he mustered just two goals in 20 games, making his moniker more a joke than a reality.

This season, with the team learning to play the ball to the 5-foot-8, 145-pounder’s feet instead of in the air, and with him adjusting to the physical nature of MLS, he’d scored five goals in 18 games – one behind Guevara for the club lead.

Now, with all four teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference winning on Saturday, the Metros were six points out of the final playoff spot going into last night’s must-win tilt vs. last-place Columbus.

“I’m not aware exactly what is in Amado Guevara’s head right now and what his decision will be,” Galvan Rey said. “As a person and as a player, I like challenges.”

With his senior international status and $216,660 salary, Galvan Rey won’t be back unless he takes a massive pay cut, and even then it’s unlikely. But at least he wants to be here – unlike the supposed leader.

The club is close to completing the acquisition of 24-year-old Argentinean MF Cesar Daniel Garipe of Pontevedra in Spain.